Rumours spread through direct messages (DMs) have spooked the journalist Indian fraternity in India, who, fearing a repeat of outrage under the banner of RadiaGate, are contemplating deactivating their twitter accounts. The DMs are reported to claim release of the second tranche of the radia tapes featuring both new and old protagonists.

The Shahi Hamam of Delhi during his nightly sermon even went on to warn the central government; “If proper rehabilitation of tainted journalists does not take place, you be ready for a third wave of radiacalization among journalists”, he said.

A news reader with a Delhi based channel requesting anonymity said: “Twitter is a beast. The forum allows users to question even the most sacrosanct subjects without any inhibitions. It clearly violates the principles espoused by India’s first prime minister and his daughter. To tackle twitter, we have to ask ourselves, What would Mrs. Indira Gandhi do?”

Meanwhile, a protest march organized near Gulam Maidan by journalists turned ugly earlier today. Angry journalists were seen thrashing microphones, burning copies of blogs published on CRI and even thrashing two bystanders who they thought were Internet Hindus.

According to sources, Executives of Twitter have been reaching out to the journalist Indian community and trying to assure them that their accounts will be provided full protection including a mass block option. The official statement says: “We are in touch with the authorities who are investigating the issue. We believe the rumour was started by a journalist who got provoked after reading a Pakistani blog. We will continue to provide full assistance to the authorities.”

The Union Home Minister has promised swift action after reports of involvement of a foreign hand came to light. “We are checking immigration records to see which foreign national could have started these rumours from inside India. We request the journalist community to provide us their passports so that we can identify the foreign hand.” , he said while briefing the media.

But reassurances from both Twitter and Government officials have done little to pacify the journalist Indian community who continue to be in a state of panic and want to end their presence on twitter.